Carrie Coon (left) and Justin Theroux suit up for the final season of HBO’s “The Leftovers.” [HBO photo]

The remarkable first two seasons of “The Leftovers,” HBO’s affecting exploration of grief in the wake of a global rapture, forged a reputation for tackling a litany of heavy topics — religion, depression, cult-enforced chain smoking, existential trips to the afterlife, bad karaoke singing and, more broadly, the meaning of life itself. Needless to say, smiling and laughter weren’t often on the table.

So it’s a bit unnerving to see a fair amount of both in the premiere of the show’s third and final season, beginning 9 p.m. Sunday.

The engrossing episode drops back into Miracle, Texas, where, for the most part, life is normal and calm. It’s in notably sharp contrast to the second season finale, when the clad-in-white Guilty Remnant invaded the small town — elevated to spiritual (and National Park) status after being left untouched by the Sudden Departure.

Despite the chaotic attack meant to blow open the gates of Miracle for all those camped outside its city limits, the season closed on Kevin (Justin Theroux) returning home from another trip to the afterlife to find his entire family huddled under one roof — one of the few things not set ablaze by the GR. It was poignant familial moment for the show that usually scatters its characters — metaphorically and physically — to the wind.

As season three opens, three years have passed and that gathering has given way to an extended family intricately intertwined in surprising new ways. Kevin and Nora (Carrie Coon) have forged a permanent home in Miracle, where he is once again wearing the badge of police chief and she is back to investigating Departure insurance claims. They are as in love as we’ve ever seen them.

But again, the sight of such happiness and stability — while immensely satisfying to see a smile creep across Theroux’s face — is not something “The Leftovers” offers in a pure, undiluted form. Seeing it feels, at once, both warm and wrong.

In true form, the cracks begin to show. A character is mysteriously missing from the mix. An unexpected visitor from Mapleton and Kevin’s past pose a new threat. An open wound left by the days following the Guilty Remnant’s attack still festers.

But the most pressing source of contention is the lingering seventh anniversary of the Sudden Departure, a number that holds significance for many religions and one that could signal another impending event — an prophecy relayed by Reverend Matt (Christopher Eccleston) unto his growing number of followers.

“The Leftovers” has shouldered criticism since season one for being a bleak and hopeless look at the grieving process, whose darkness has proven too thick for some viewers to wade through. In actuality, it’s not given enough credit for how much it accomplishes on a weekly basis, running the emotion spectrum from sobbing to wicked laughter.

In just two seasons, creators/writers Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta have crafted a purposeful and tremendous feat of storytelling, each episode of which has the weight and intensity of an experience in and of itself. It’s an inventive, thoughtful and polarizing study of the human condition when put under the most immense pressure — devastating loss.

Coming off its staggeringly perfect second season — one of the single greatest TV seasons in history — “The Leftovers” masterfully approaches the finish line by propelling forward its characters with compelling momentum into a timely search for answers, or what passes for them in this world, and closure in the face of uncertainty. In short, in its final eight episodes — seven of which were provided to critics — “The Leftovers” solidifies its place as TV’s best and bravest series.

After a start in Miracle, most of the season’s action — and characters — shifts to Australia, where Kevin’s rarely seen father, Kevin Sr. (Scott Glenn in a wonderfully kooky, yet sentimental role), is searching for a way to stop the coming flood — his prediction for the seventh anniversary involves Noah’s Ark-level rains. The trek down under is a less startling scenery change than Mapleton to Miracle proved, in part because Australia’s often primitive landscape comes to act as the perfect on-the-fringes-of-humanity backdrop for the increasingly removed-from-reality drama.

Giving away much more about the plot would spoil the ride. But it’s reassuring to know the pressure of The End doesn’t halt this complex show from continuing to fire on all cylinders, offering up affecting character development, truly inspired music choices and genuine surprises.

Most significantly, it also continues to poke and prod at the foundational idea of religion and its implications, to varying degrees, for those who seek it out.

As more of Kevin’s friends and family are brought into the fold on his immortal tendencies and Matt’s not-so-subtle belief Kevin is the new Messiah (his new biblical-level beard doesn’t help), Lindelof and the writing team lean hard into what a new savior could mean as so many prepare for another Departure or worse.

Theroux and Coon, yet again, showcase their electric dynamic as Kevin and Nora, a couple unlike any other on TV. They have a seemingly infallible — if not, blind — devotion to one another, despite the secrets that always keep them at arms length. Coon, in particular, gives everything she’s got to peeling back the layers Nora has used to shield herself and others from the tragedies of her life. Coon’s understanding and exploration of Nora, who is driven by a potentially dangerous inquisitiveness, makes a wildly unpredictable combination — and a perfect actor-character match.

The breakout of the season, however, is a familiar face: Amy Brenneman. Once a self-muted member of the Guilty Remnant, Brenneman’s Laurie Garvey has shed her silence, white threads and background presence for a very prominent role in the final season’s events.

Brenneman did a lot by saying very little in season one — excluding a pre-Departure flashback episode, she spoke only one word. But now as a resident of Miracle and a confidante to ex-husband Kevin, the former therapist finds purpose in lending a hand to her family — even when the circumstances veer far from her clinical thinking.

It will be interesting to see how Brenneman’s essential role resonates with fans of the show. Through the first seven episodes, Laurie’s arc proves substantial to nearly every major character’s journey, and Brenneman sells it with a truly outstanding performance.

Three powerhouse performances should not overshadow the rest of the deep bench of actors — Glenn, Eccleston, Kevin Carroll (John), Jovan Adepo (Michael), Regina King (Erika) and new guest star Lindsay Duncan — who are an embarrassment of talent that continues to astonish.

In a departure — no pun intended — from his previous series, “Lost,” Lindelof and company don’t harp on the mythology and reasoning behind the Sudden Departure, instead establishing early on its richest narrative value lies with its characters. It has a loyalty to them, proven again and again by a willingness to hand off the point of view, episode to episode, to a different character(s). This practice — which often isolated the episode’s signature character from the main cast — only emphasized the strength of the ensemble players and gave birth to the show’s best hours, including season one’s Nora-centric “Guest” and Kevin’s trip to Hotel Afterlife in season two’s “International Assassin.” This season, Kevin, Kevin Sr. and Matt tackle their own episodes.

In the end, “The Leftovers” has never been about the people who departed or explaining what took them. It’s about the ones left to pick up the pieces and those they let in to help shoulder the burden.

It is about the struggle to square life’s circles — a insurmountable challenge to which Lindelof and company make the case there is no definitive answer.

Instead, the series presents the complicated journey to a place of contentment — a road paved with dark and upsetting moments, and maybe even a few well-earned laughs and smiles.

That’s the legacy “The Leftovers” will leave behind.

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